Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Challenge Yourself To Change Your World…

For those who have been following the work
of LIFE for a while, you probably already know Paul. For those who don’t, meet
Paul:

Paul volunteered with International Service
in 2016, and ever since he has been actively seeking opportunities to create
change in his community and to develop his own skills. He has since become: secretary of the local Disabled People’s Organisation; an active member of a
Guinea Fowl Association; continues to work with International Service
volunteers, and still wears his ICS T-shirt with pride! Paul has said that
volunteering on the ICS programme gave him many opportunities, and his
confidence grew. As a disabled man himself, Paul is determined to advocate for
the rights of people with disabilities. He wishes to create change and make opportunities, to learn and grow and ensure that being disabled does not mean that a person is not able. He is always thinking of the next idea, always looking
for new routes to take or projects to start.

This attitude and desire to create change
led Paul to apply for the International Service Alumni Grant. He wanted to
facilitate a soap making training as he highlighted a need for young people in
the community to learn a skill. This would help them to not fall victim to
Ghana’s major youth unemployment problem. Paul has said that there have been
soap/pomade/shea butter training workshops in the past organised either by ICS
volunteers or by the local Rural Enterprise Project. However, he noticed that these
training's were most often benefiting older generations and bypassed the youth. Therefore, he hoped that by including young people, specifically school leavers, as well
as people with disabilities, they would have a chance to learn new skills that
would help them generate an income for themselves.

Our lovely UK Volunteer Madison sat down
with Paul to discuss his motivations for involving young people in the training
and the potential opportunities it could offer them. He stated that:

‘The youth are very important when it comes
to addressing unemployment in Ghana. By involving the Youth in training like
this, they have a chance to develop further and hopefully begin to make a
living for themselves. At the moment, the participants are planning to sell the
soap they produced during the training and use the money to buy raw materials
to continue production. The skills they have gained will allow them to start
making money, and also may make them more employable to existing businesses.
They will be able to contribute to the economy and ensure they are not
dependent on their families.’

The training itself was a great success.
Over the course of three days, twenty five participants learned how to make three
different kinds of soap from scratch. Former volunteers Raphael and Samuel were
on hand to help, as were all of the current LIFE project team, by taking photos and
helping with questionnaires as well as learning a little about soap making. The
feedback Paul received from the participants after the completion of the
training was extremely positive with many thinking of diverse ways to use their new skills. One participant said:

‘I have learned how to make many different
types of soap. I can use this knowledge to help other people in the community
learn too. I hope we can sell the soaps and use the money to buy materials to
continue making soap. I hope it will help us to reduce poverty in our
community.' – Afoblikame Mary

Photo Credit: Kate Glover

One of the most vital principles of the
human rights based approach to development is EMPOWERMENT. International
Service advocates for beneficiaries not to simply be ‘recipients of charity’. They should be motivated to access their rights and break the cycle of poverty and
inequality. Building the capacity of young and vulnerable people, strengthening
their skills and abilities to achieve objectives, and thrive in their
communities is a necessity to achieve sustainable development goals. The ICS
programme and its volunteers are not a permanent fixture in the community. However, while there are go-getters and determined young people like Paul striving to
succeed, we feel confident that positive changes are coming.